In The Ring
by TurningGears
Summary: When Danny and his classmates are stuck in a dimension where they literally have to FIGHT their three worst fears, will secrets be revealed? R
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: Hi guys, I'm Turning Gears, this is my first fanfic EVER so I really hope you like it. Please review and give all the criticism you can throw at me. I have had to type this author's note THREE TIMES already because of Internet Explorer not working, so I trying to wrap this up kind of quickly. Please no flames. I don't think I have anything else, so here goes nothing!**

**P.S. I don't own Danny Phantom or Internet Explorer.**

The hooded figure hid in the shadow of the cavern, passively watching his companions.

"Our plan will not fail this time," the silhouette of a large robot said.

"With all of us working together, the dipstick doesn't stand a chance. This plan can't fail!" The surrounding audience smirked with excitement. They had devised a plan to finally take down the one that stood between them and world domination, the one whose greatest secret was his greatest weakness.

The hooded figure stepped forward, to the surprise of many, and spoke, his voice sending chills down the spines of them all. "And I have the key to putting that plan in motion. With my help, you will get revenge on the one who stands in your way."

"Danny Phantom."

"WE'RE NOT LOVEBIRDS!"

The familiar chime of Casper High's favorite non-couple couple rang down he crowded hallway. Onlookers chuckled in amusement. The third member that made up this trio, Tucker, (along with Sam and Danny), probably made another crack at his friends' obliviousness. Many people wondered how Sam Manson and Danny Fenton had managed to get so close without being a couple, as their nickname assumed.

"Tucker!" Sam said, Danny in an identical rage.

"Alright, alright, I'll stop!" Tucker managed, while simultaneously collapsing into a fit of giggles. His two friends glanced down at their friend before moving down the hallway. "Hey, wait up!" Tucker yelled.

As the trio found their way to their lockers, Danny spun his head around to view all angles of the hallway, a worried and confused expression on his face. His companions turned to study him with anxious looks on their faces. Sam and Tucker began a conversation, uncomfortable with being left out of the loop. They managed to stay low enough to be too quiet for even the most finely tuned eyes and ears.

"Danny, what's wrong?" Sam asked, her protective instincts taking control and overshadowing her gothic and independent ideas.

"I don't know, I just can't help the feeling that something bad will happen today," Danny replied, remaining vigilant.

But what many people didn't know about Danny is that he hides his true self under a mask of obscurity. No one realizes that, despite the different hair and eye color, he is the half-ghost town superhero, known to most as Danny Phantom.

He gets pushed into lockers by day, and saves the city by day too. But no one knows of his secret identity (save for Tucker, Sam, and his sister Jazz), including his ghost hunter parents. And Danny intends to keep it that way.

"Danny, relax, you've been uptight all morning. Just because no ghosts attacked last night or this morning that you needed to fend off, doesn't mean some big disaster is gonna strike!" Tucker exclaimed, punctuating it with a few confused glances from other students in the hallway.

Danny and Sam shared angry glares as they bore holes into the side of Tucker's head. "Are you trying to blow my secret to the entire school?!" Danny hissed, his gaze passing over the students in the hallway, interested looks coming from each onlooker at Tucker's outburst.

"Just trying to prove a point," Tucker said, his hands raised in innocence.

"As much as I hate to say it, and I really hate to say it, I think Tucker might be right about this one, Danny. Try to calm down a little bit," Sam said lowering her steady gaze.

"I'm not so sure guys. I just can't shake the feeling that something bad will happen," Danny proclaimed to his friends. Sam and Tucker exchanged worried glances. They had known Danny long enough to understand that they usually needed to trust his instincts, even if he could be paranoid at times.

Danny glanced around slightly before visibly relaxing, but his posture instantly stiffened. The atmosphere in the crowd had changed. Danny looked around, expecting an enemy to appear, but soon dismissed the change as class starting early. They stood side by side, marching slowly to their classroom, where Mr. Lancer awaited, his tie a bright blue, his eyes a glowing red.

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"Huh?"

Danny shot awake on his desk, Sam's wad of paper having hit its mark. He glanced around the room blearily, only to find the entire class watching him.

Dash, Paulina, and the other A-listers held back snickers as the exchanged their nicknames for Danny. Danny could barely contain an eye roll a their reaction.

"You four, over there. Do you think this is funny? Alright then, Dash, Paulina, Kwan, and Star, see me in my office after school. You too, Mr. Fenton," Lancer preached. "And Miss Manson, I saw that paper ball. You think trying to wake up your friend doesn't excuse you from throwing things across my room? You can come visit me too. And Foley, put that PDA away! Come to my office as well."

Grumbles could be heard all across the classroom at this decision. Danny turned to his friends and got a view of their worried expressions. He quickly unfolded the projectile Sam had sent flying his way.

_Did you get enough sleep last night, or were you on patrol?_' was written on it in Sam's elegant scrawl.

As Danny picked up pencil to respond, his attention was diverted by a flash of light. He looked up, astonished as his gaze passed over his teacher's eyes, whose pupils were a ghostly red. Danny blinked, but as soon as he reopened his eyes, Mr. Lancer's eyes were back to normal. He shook his head, clearing his mind as the bell rang. Sighing as he dismissed the crazy theories his mind was generating as an excuse for his Lancer's red pupils, he grabbed his things and left the room. Mr. Lancer's overshadowed eyes were boring holes into Danny's back as he made his way out of the room.

************************************************** **************  
"You wanted to see us, Mr. Lancer?" Dash said as he bullied his way past Danny, Sam, and Tucker into Mr. Lancer's office, followed by the other A-listers, just as Danny was opening his mouth to speak. Danny shot the taller boy a glare as he sank into the shadows.

They had all gathered in Mr. Lancer's office to hear the punishment for their behavior that was sure to come.

"What are you kids talking about? I woke up late this morning, after your class period was over. I'm pretty sure they sent in a sub though…" Mr. Lancer said, his puzzled eyes moving to each student's face in turn.

Danny's once expressionless face turned into a mask of confusion. "But you were in the classroom with us…" His face quickly displayed understanding. "Unless…" he spoke, turning to Sam and Tucker. "Do you remember how I was kind of uneasy this morning, even after you told me to stop?" Danny said in a hushed whisper to his friends, as Lancer and the A-listers exchanged theories.

"It was because Mr. Lancer's eyes were red." Danny could hear the combined gasp of Sam and Tucker as they realized what this meant.

"Do you think he was overshadowed?" Sam said, her voice barely rising above a whisper. "Sounds like it." Tucker contributed sending Sam a sidelong glance. "He did seem kinda, off this morning…"

"My thoughts exactly. The only question is why." Danny's speculations were met with silence as each member of Team Phantom pondered these events.

But, just as Danny opened his mouth to speak, he was cut off by a shiver down his spine and a puff of blue air leaving his mouth. "Looks like our questions are about to be answered," Danny said, gazing at the ceiling, waiting for the inevitable guest that was sure to appear.

************************************************** **************  
'Everything is working out as we have planned. The ghost child will be in our clutches soon,' Skulker thought to himself, his eyes darting back and forth as he watched the conversation taking place in Mr. Lancer's office. His fists clenched as he saw a familiar blue wisp escaping the ghost child's lips.

"Let the show… begin," he said to himself, giving the last word voice as he gave the signal to put their plan into motion.

**Hi again, I really hoped you liked it, please let me know if you have any suggestions in the reviews, and like I said before (at the top, go on, scroll on up there), reviews are welcome. I'll try to update soon, so, for now, bye!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi again guys, like last time, please leave suggestions in the reviews, and no flames. Also, I'm sorry if it feels like I'm rushing this, but I'm really excited about this story. So, as always, here goes nothing! (That should be my catchphrase or something- anyone? No? Fine.)**

**PS I don't own Danny Phantom**

**In The Ring**

**Chapter Two**

Danny and his friends jumped as a loud crack of thunder echoed outside. Almost on cue, a shadowy figure entered behind them. Sam and Tucker jumped high into the air when Dash screamed, noticing the entity. Danny, however, simply turned around, having already sensed their guests presence. But, when he and his friends saw the ghost, they were both equally surprised, as none of them recognized him. He wore a long cloak with large black boots.

"Hello children. I am Demitrius, the ghost of fear," the apparition claimed as he began to lower the hood to his cloak, revealing a sick, twisted pair of eyes that gave Danny chills.

"Prepare to face your worst nightmare."

Danny could feel the rage bubbling up inside of him at the way Demitrius was speaking to his friends and other classmates.

'_Not if I have anything to do about it_,' he thought to himself, while pushing past Dash and Star to get closer to the specter.

"Ah, ah, ah, Daniel. Not time for you to interfere quite yet," Demitrius said, stopping Danny in his tracks and sending him flying to the back off the office with a flick of his wrist. Danny weakly raised his head, facing the powerful ghost hovering in the center of the room.

"Now, where was I? Oh yes..." the spirit trailed off, releasing a plume of sleeping gas into the air from his staff.

"Get ready Daniel, to face your fears," Demitrius whispered as Danny sunk into unconsciousness against his best efforts.

Danny slowly raised himself to a sitting position, his hand pressed against his head. After clearing his foggy mind, he looked around for his classmates and Mr. Lancer for the first time. He found them sprawled around a huge square of rubber, with ropes connecting the four corners of the square.

Danny looked at it briefly wondering what it was for, afraid it had something to do with their current situation. He pushed it out of his mind though, scanning the area for Sam and Tucker. The hybrid nearly jumped for joy upon seeing that his friends were alright.

He made a move to go wake Sam up near the bench she was propped up against, only to feel a small tug on his wrists. Danny glanced down and saw faintly glowing green chains trailing from his hands down to the floor next to the wall.

He looked around yet again, grateful that no one else was restrained like him. So, after seeing a few of his still-sleeping classmates stir, Danny resolved to stay put until they woke up on their own. He could tell they were in for a long rest of the day, and figured his friends would need as much energy as possible.

"Ugh, what hit me?"

Danny and Sam chuckled at Tucker's comment as he forced himself awake. The rest of the captives were already up and were pacing around the room.

"Where are we?" Tucker asked his friends, only to be met with confused sighs.

"We're not quite sure, Tuck. But, we're positive that ghost in Lancer's office had something to do with it," Danny replied from his place next to the wall, a solemn look on his face. "I would help you guys look for a way out, but I'm a little tied up at the moment," he added jokingly, holding up up his wrists where the chains clinked together menacingy.

"Yo, Fenturd!" came Dash's signature cry from across the room."That ghost sent us here, but YOUR parents are the ghst hunters. He probably wanted revenge on your family, so now we're ALL stuck here!" the jock said as he sauntered up to the trio. Then, almost as if for extra effect, he added, "This is all your fault!"

Sam leaned over to Tucker and whispered, "Wow, that's the closest I've ever seen him come to putting something together." Tucker covered a snort just in time, but Paulina still saw the exchanged.

"What are you talking about, geeks? How much of a spaz your looooser friend Danny is?" Paulina teased, with a knowing smirk on her face. If anything set the little goth freak off, it would be that.

"What. Did. You. Just. Say?" Sam growled. The people in the room (besides Sam and Paulina) automatically flinched. They knew that tone, and they knew it was dangerous.

"You heard me, freak,"

And that was all it took. The room bursted into absolute pandemonium. Tucker started trying to pry Sam off of the screaming Paulina who had Mr. Lancer holding her back, Dash started yelling at Kwan who in turn started yelling at Star. But after just a few seconds of this, Danny couldn't take it.

"EVERYBODY JUST SHUT UP!" he shrieked, barely containing the ghostly wail that desperately wanted to infuse with his cry. All the people in the room froze in mid-action. In fact, Danny would have laughed if the situation wasn't so dire.

Dash had his fist drawn back, almost touching his nose, aiming for Kwan, who was looking on in pure terror. Star, on the other hand, looked as if she were about to run as far away from the two as she could possibly get. Paulina had her hands held up to her face, and was staring at horror at her chipped and broken nails in defeat, while Sam smiled smugly **(Ha! Alliteration)**. Tucker and Mr. Lancer were on their knees panting from having to separate the two girls.

"We don't have to do what you say, Fentoad," Dash spat out at Danny, after recovering from the shock of being yelled at, especially by a loser like Fenton. "In fact," he continued," I should be bossing you around. So there! Now, loser, go look for an exit."

Danny smiled grimly at the request. "I would love to help Dash, don't get me wrong** (cough, sarcasm, cough)**, but I kinda can't at the moment."

"Oh yeah?! And why not?"

Danny sighed and held up the clearly-visible-to-Dash 3 foot glowing chains attached to his arms. "Oh," Dash said, his face showing disappointment at not getting to yell and embarrassment at the obvious restraints.

'_We're all doomed_,' Danny thought, putting his head in his hands.

Danny and his friends were clustered in the corner next to where Danny's ghost proof chains were attached to the wall. They had just started to exchange ideas on what was going on, when the temperature in the room dropped several degrees. '_Now what?_' Danny sighed mentally.

"Welcome, my guests to the Fear Arena," Demitrius cried as he entered the room.

'_Guests? More like hostages,_' Danny thought to himself, before focusing on the next part of Demitrius' announcment. '_Arena? What does he mean by... oh.'_

One by one, spotlights around the room lit up, illumnating stands along the other walls that were previously in the dark.

"Here you will each take turns facing three of your fears inside our little boxing ring," Demitrius continued, motioning to the square piece of rubber, before adressing Danny. "And so you can't help others out with their fears before it's your turn, Daniel, we have these _special _chains you are currently wearing. So, students and teacher, prepare to fight your fears. Oh, I almost forgot, what's a fight without an audience?"

Demitrius gave a twirl of his fingers, and suddenly, people began to appear in the stands. Danny's heart stopped. The ENTIRE audience consisted of ghosts, enemies and allies alike, though he was sure his allies had been forced to come. But almost every ghost there was an enemy- Skulker, Ember, Vortex, Plasmius, Desiree, all of them were there.

'_My day just keeps getting worse.'_

**Hope you liked this, please leave suggestions, no flames, blah blah blah. Also, if you see any mistakes, it's because it's late and I'm tired and I'm too lazy to read over it AGAIN. I'll try to update again soon, maybe not as soon as this one, but soon (for some reason, in my head, as I'm typing, I'm speaking in my science teacher's voice- I need more sleep). Again if I'm rushing this, it's because I'm so excited for it yay! So, yeah, R&R, byeeeeee!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Gah! Please don't hit me, please don't hit me! I know this is really, really, late, but I am unfortunately talented at procrastinating. Meep. This probably has some plot holes, but like I mentioned, first fanfic, cut me some slack. I really like how this is going, but as always, leave suggestions. Also, the way I'm writing this is by writing the entire chapter and then posting it, and not really having anything pre-done, so updates may be random. One more thing:**

**I had a comment that said they didn't want Dan to be Danny's third fear, so instead I'm trying to decide between having his friends and family die, or having every ghostly enemy attack at once. I really like the second one since it isn't used as much as the first, but if there is one you prefer, let me know in the reviews.**

**P.S. I don't own Danny Phantom**

In The Ring

Chapter Three

"Guys, what are we going to do?!"

Danny's frantic question was met with silence from the entire group.

Clear walls had lowered after Demitrius left, forming a barrier between the audience and the captives. But through the glass, you could still see the ghosts laughing at them (Danny in particular) and eating popcorn infused with ectoplasm. Vendors were walking up the aisles between the coliseum-like stands selling more snacks and even some souvenirs.

"Any ideas?" Sam chimed in.

Dash scoffed and folded his arms. Under his breath, he muttered,"I still say this is Fenton's fault."

Sam rolled her eyes and ignored Dash, leaning over to Danny. "Got anything?" she whispered, hoping he did. "I might, but I'm still working on it. I'll get back to you later if I think of anything more. But, so far I'm thinking that we have Tucker scan the air for ectoplasm with his PDA to see if we're in the ghost zone. That way, when we get out, we might have some idea of where we are. But in the meantime, I'm going to work on picking these locks," Danny replied softly with a shaky smile, shifting slightly to show his hands working furiously with a paper clip.

"Hello again!" Demitrius cried, sailing into the room. "Now, I think we're ready to start, so who should go first…" he trailed off tapping his chin in thought. "How about… you." He extended a pale finger to Star.

Demitrius knocked his staff on the floor once and she was gone in a puff of smoke. Everyone panicked for moment before she simply reappeared standing nervously in the boxing ring. "Get ready child, to face your fears. Fears number one and two…" Demitrius said, waving his hand over his staff, before vanishing behind the clear walls and into the stands, where the ghosts had gone quiet.

Everyone tensed, waiting for something to happen, until, one by one, all different types of snakes and spiders slithered and crawled out from every opening in the rubber. Soon the entire floor of the ring looked alive from all the movement on it, as if the floor itself were rippling.

But after recovering from their shock, the students and Mr. Lancer slowly turned to look at Star. Her face was contorted into an expression that can only be described as a mixture of pain and shock and fear. Her mouth was twisted up and her eyes were almost shut.

"It's alright, Star, you can do it!" Paulina called.

Danny turned away from her terrified expression, upset that he couldn't help, even if she was an A-lister. He stared at the wall, wishing there was something he could do, when a plan popped into his mind.

"Hey Desiree!" Danny called. "I wish I wasn't chained up, and that Demitrius couldn't tie me up again!"

"So you have wished it, so shall it be," was his feminine response. The chains were gone in a puff of smoke. Danny rubbed his sore wrists and looked up at the audience. Most were booing and throwing things at Desiree, while his few allies were cheering him on. He glanced over at his friends, who were looking at him encouragingly. The A-listers, however, were looking at Danny in wonder and disgust that he would waste their wish on that. But the hybrid just rolled his eyes. Danny had but one decision to make-help out and risk suspicion, or let his friends suffer. It was a no-brainer. He quickly turned in Star's direction.

"This fight just got interesting."

Danny didn't waste time springing into action. He shot towards the ring and flew over the ropes surrounding it. With one quick movement, he was inside the ring and three snakes and two spiders were already crushed beneath his toes. Danny flung himself over to Star in a front flip and pushed her to the boundaries of the rubber mat. He then started grabbing and flinging snakes and spiders of all kinds around the edge, carefully avoiding Star. Soon, the serpents and spiders were lying everywhere, the smart few who didn't attacked had slitheredor crawled back to where they had come from.

All of the A-listers, including Star, were sitting with looks of disbelief on theirs faces, while Tucker looked proud and Sam disapproving. Danny nonchalantly brushed his hands off and turned to face the ghosts, most of which were glaring with hatred.

Demitrius appeared yet again with anger on his face. "Fear number three," he said, seething with horribly concealed rage. He waved his hand over his staff. Star vanished yet again, along with Danny, but all that happened was Star was put back into the ring and Danny taken out.

"Now that that's taken care of…" Demitrius muttered.

White chairs draped with satin appeared out of nowhere, along with huge pearl-colored arches. The walls seemed to melt away, along with the ghosts, even though Danny knew they were probably still there, invisible.

He and the others gasped as Star vanished, but as they tried to move to see where she went, they found themselves rooted to the floor. Danny could only watch as his classmates and teacher vanished one by one, soon meeting that same fate himself.

He could only imagine what torture was to come as he opened his eyes, which he had never realized he'd shut. At the front of the white chairs was Star in a wedding dress, standing next to none other than Tucker, who was grinning and wiggling his eyebrows while wearing a tuxedo. Danny let that sink in before looking around to see himself in a suit as Tucker's best man and Paulina in a dress as a bridesmaid. He noticed Lancer was the priest and everyone else was sitting in the chairs as an audience. Star's bloodcurdling scream almost broke the glasses of champagne on a long table. danny sighed and comically face-palmed.

_'Today is going to be a long one.'_

**Okay, so that's it for now, I'll try to update faster next time. I think I'll do one person's fears per chapter, but don't rely on the timing of it. I don't think I have really any other news, so peace out for now. BYE!**


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